Art, photography, life and how those are really all the same thing.

Second Time Off’s The Charm

Well. You may remember from my last post that I was talking about taking a bit of a vacation because I’ve been almost constantly sick for over two months – sick on top of any fibro or ME stuff, I mean. Ironically, the day I woke up and posted that, I quickly realized I was coming down with yet another cold which turned into strep throat this time. It’s only been about 9 months since the last time I had strep throat. Since my health has been so incredibly sub-par recently, I realized pretty quickly it was turning into strep and got myself to urgent care (again) for antibiotics (again). Last time I had strep, I let it go for a while before I realized what it was, so I was pretty much dying every time I breathed or swallowed. While I was certainly uncomfortable this time, it wasn’t nearly as horrific as the last episode, so I’m thankful for that.

I am just finishing up my last antibiotics today, so while I’ve been resting to get over the strep throat, I did not take the “vacation” I was planning on taking. At this point I think I’ll try and start it now… it’s not 100% ideal since I have two appointments this week (which for me is about as many “things” as I can put into a week) but I feel like I really need to just focus on this resting up and recuperating as soon as I can to prevent more illnesses. I’ll probably extend it a little longer than I’d originally planned on also, but again, I think it’s very, very called for.

I saw my new ear/nose/throat doctor last Friday since I’d about exhausted my regular doctor’s knowledge of what could be going on with my crazy, absurd body this time. The new doctor had bloodwork done to test for allergies and (assuming I can stay relatively healthy) he’s going to do a CT scan of my head in the next couple weeks to see what’s up with my sinuses, among other things. The idea is to have the scan done while I’m at my “baseline” and not sick with anything new, so that adds another level of needing to stay quiet, rest and be healthy.

And did I mention pain spikes in the last post? OH MY GOD, pain spikes. And migraines. Serious, grabbing-your-brain-in-a-vice, I-am-not-fucking-around migraines. It was all enough that my pain specialist added a new, stronger pain medication to my collection of pills. Do I win a prize if I collect enough pills? Is it like Pokemon?

Today I feel well enough to write this, so I’m trying to knock it out before my energy wears off. I’m still planning on being a little less active online than has been typical for me in the past (and of course I was VERY inactive while I was in the grip of strep) so please continue to bear with me as I work on improving my health. I will not be intentionally ignoring or neglecting anyone. I would much, much rather be happy and chipper and be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, but that’s not the way things are right now. Please don’t take any unresponsiveness on my part personally; I just may not be on the computer that day, or a migraine might not allow me to open my eyes, etc. Regardless, it won’t be you, it’ll be me.

I did have one photo that was all ready to go, and one which doesn’t require a ton of promotion as others sometimes do. So I’ll slip this one quietly online then go about my resting and vacationing and watching endless cat videos on YouTube through the TV. (How amazing is it that you can watch YouTube on your TV now?? I love that!)

This image is a new DreamWorld photo, featuring the ever-wonderful Katie Johnson. It gives us a glimpse of a human girl who has been given a sleeping draught of some kind which sent her into a deep, silent slumber… who gave it to her and for what purpose are a mystery. The billowing blue smoke tells me that something important is about to happen; perhaps a new creature will make itself manifest! We may find out more in a later image.

We shot this… gosh, at least several months ago, though it may have been longer than that. A while is safe to say. I’m wearing a sweater and scarf in the behind-the-scenes photo so it was definitely NOT recently as California has been doing its best impression of the scorching depths of hell the last few months. This is actually in my front yard (I love it when I can shoot without driving anywhere!). There are some marvelously old trees here, and this one had a delightfully curly branch which Katie gracefully draped herself over. It took a little maneuvering on her part to get into position without sliding right off due to the slippery fabric of the dress she’s wearing, but Katie is a pro and didn’t let that stop her. I lit a few blue smoke bombs in my “smoke bomb bucket” and tried to scurry around, spreading the smoke generously through the frame to composite together later. It took a number of smoke bombs and careful placement, but I was able to get pretty much all the background covered up and filled any holes in Photoshop.

Sleeping Draught – spreading blue smoke. Also, ignore the way Katie’s dress is pooching strangely; I can promise you it has to do with the unusual cut of the dress and does not reflect Katie’s body 🙂

So please enjoy this latest DreamWorld photo and the detail shots below! Thanks to Katie for always being up for all my crazy ideas and for being able to look so serene and beautiful while pretend-sleeping on an uncomfortable tree branch! Now if I could get my hands on this sleeping draught, I think my resting would be a lot more healing and easier to handle! Lastly, please don’t feel like you can’t talk to me or interact with me while I’m “vacationing;” I’m sure to get lonely, I just might not get back to you as quickly as I’d like depending on how the day is going. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement!